BBC bosses have come under fire after it was revealed only one Olympic event being held in Scotland will be screened live on television.
Glasgow, the only city north of the border to host an Olympic event, will stage eight men’s and women’s football matches at Hampden park during the Games.
But it has emerged that only one of the games will be televised – despite Glasgow hosting ties involving Fifa’s number one ranked female team, the United States, and Eygpt – one of Africa’s most successful male sides.
Hampden Park will be hosting the event.
The BBC confirmed that only one match – between European champs Spain and Japan, will be broadcast live.
It will be shown on BBC2 on Thursday – although it likely to be shown before the opening ceremony of the games.
A spokesman said: “All the games that are chosen for BBC One, Two and Three have been selected on editorial merit, not location.
“The decision has been based on who’s playing, the level of interest in the games might hold for the British public and what it’s up against.”
The decision means that football fans will only be able to watch full Olympic coverage in Glasgow online, or by using satellite or cable interactive red buttons.
The exclusion of Scottish events from the Olympics TV schedule follows criticism of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Locog) for Hampden football tickets failing to sell.
Lloyd Evans a Locog spokesman said there could be many empty seats at Hampden.
He said: “We have £2.6million tickets across the whole football competition. We have sold 1.6 million and one million remain unsold.
“At Hampden Park we know there is good availability; there’s over half the tickets left to sell there.”
Despite poor ticket sales, Glasgow business are still hoping to cash in from the Olympic events at the national stadium.
Richard Muir, deputy chief executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, said: “The eight football games being hosted at Hampden Park will bring with them a feelgood factor, and our shops and hotels will be boosted by the competitors, officials and spectators coming to Glasgow.
“Hoteliers and the city’s vibrant entertainment sector will be expecting a spike in business as tourists seek to venture outside of London.
“With the legacy of the Games expected to present benefits for many years to come, we’re confident these can extend to north of the Border.
“Furthermore, the city is yet again demonstrating its capacity as a sporting destination, ranking in the global top 10 and further paving the way to the Commonwealth Games on 2014.
“We’re looking forward to the Olympics and the business benefits they will hold.”
